MARKET SNAPSHOT

U.S. stocks rebounded from their earlier declines that were tied to a drop in gross domestic product and a slowdown in consumer spending. Treasury yields ended little changed after a tattoo of ambivalent data. The drop in U.S. economic activity pushed oil prices lower. Gold edged lower as the dollar strengthened.

MARKET WRAPS

EQUITIES

U.S. stocks staged a late rally to end one of their wildest-ever months on a high note, overcoming early-session declines that followed a weak report on economic growth.

Stocks initially fell after new data showed the U.S. economy shrank during the first three months of the year-its first contraction since the start of 2022. Indexes rebounded, however, with investors cautioning against reading too much into the data, which was distorted by a flood of imports generated by businesses rushing to stock inventories ahead of new tariffs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, to finish April down 3.2%. The S&P 500 edged up 0.1%, ending the month down 0.8%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell around 0.1%, but gained 0.9% in April.

The session's moves capped a tumultuous stretch on Wall Street, marked by the biggest stock declines since the early days of the Covid pandemic, huge single-day surges and similar swings in other investments, such as U.S. Treasurys. Despite the violence of the daily shifts, the monthly changes in major indexes were muted, with the S&P 500 falling less in April than it did in March.

Earlier Wednesday, stocks in China were mostly higher, as investors digested the latest China PMI data, which signaled weaker-than-expected manufacturing activity. Among major stocks, technology companies led the gains.

The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.2%, for its fourth consecutive session of decreases. The Shenzhen Composite Index, however, ended 0.7% higher and the ChiNext Price Index gained 0.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.5%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.6%.

Stocks in Australia rose, as the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7%, the fifth consecutive session of increases.

New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index declined 1.0%, the second consecutive session of decreases.

COMMODITIES

Oil futures fell for a third day, hit by an unexpected drop in U.S. economic activity and a Reuters report that Saudi Arabia can deal with lower oil prices and is unwilling to shore up the market with further output cuts.

Saudi-led OPEC+ is due to lift production by 411,000 barrels a day on Thursday, and on Monday will meet to discuss June output levels.

"Now there is a feeling that the Saudis could go old school 2020-style and open the taps for size," Mizuho's Robert Yawger said. The report put further pressure on crude already reeling from the 0.3% U.S. 1Q GDP contraction, Yawger said.

West Texas Intermediate declined 3.7% to $58.21 a barrel. Brent for July delivery settled down 3.5% at $61.06.

Gold prices slipped despite the first negative GDP reading since 2022.

Gold futures lost 0.4% to settle at $3305.00.

"Gold has failed to rise to the occasion and take charge of safe haven flows today," Yawger said.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

U.S. Economy Shrank in First Quarter as Imports Surged Ahead of Tariffs

The U.S. economy contracted in the first three months of 2025, as businesses rushed to stock up on imports ahead of the Trump administration's tariffs and consumer spending slowed.

The Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product-the value of all goods and services produced across the economy-fell at a seasonally and inflation adjusted 0.3% annual rate in the first quarter. That was the first contraction since the first quarter of 2022.

Consumer spending, the economy's main engine, rose at a 1.8% pace in the first quarter, the smallest increase since mid-2023. Spending by the federal government fell as the Department of Government Efficiency cut jobs and contracts.

U.S. Hiring Slows as Employers' Concerns Mount, ADP Data Show

Hiring in the U.S. private sector slowed markedly amid growing policy uncertainty.

Just 62,000 jobs were created this month, down from 147,000 in March, according to the ADP National Employment report released Wednesday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected hiring to slow less sharply to 120,000 extra positions on the month.

"Unease is the word of the day," said Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist. Employers are faced with uncertainty around government policy and worsening consumer confidence, counterbalanced by signs of a still robust economy, Richardson said.

Meta Posts $42 Billion in Sales, Points to Strong Growth

Meta Platforms said sales reached $42 billion in the first quarter and indicated growth would remain steady in the coming months, blunting concerns that President Trump's tariffs would harm its global digital ads business.

The social media giant said its sales grew by 16%, ahead of analyst expectations. Net income for the January-to-March period was $16.6 billion.

Meta projected revenue for the current quarter would increase between 8% and 16% year-over-year, sending shares up more than 3% in after-hours trading.

Microsoft Earnings Rise on Double-Digit Growth Across Key Units

Microsoft logged double-digit-percentage revenue growth in its fiscal third quarter, with all three of the company's main business units topping internal projections as demand held amid global economic uncertainty.

Overall profit rose to $25.82 billion, up from $21.93 billion a year earlier. Per-share earnings of $3.46 came in ahead of the $3.22 that analysts polled by FactSet expected.

Total revenue for the three months ended March 31 rose 13% to $70.06 billion. Analysts had modeled sales of $68.44 billion.

Qualcomm Reports Strong Earnings. Stock Falls on Outlook.

Qualcomm gave a slightly disappointing outlook for its current quarter. Its shares fell in after-hours trading.

For the March quarter, the chip maker reported earnings per share of $2.85, compared to Wall Street's consensus estimate of $2.82, according to FactSet.

Revenue came in at $10.8 billion, which was above analysts' expectations of $10.6 billion. But Qualcomm forecast a revenue range for the current quarter of $9.9 billion to $10.7 billion-at the midpoint, that's slightly below the consensus of $10.33 billion.

Expected Major Events for Thursday

00:00/SKA: Apr Trade data

00:30/JPN: Apr Japan Manufacturing PMI

01:30/AUS: 1Q International Trade Price: Export

01:30/AUS: 1Q International Trade Price: Import

01:30/AUS: Mar International Trade in Goods & Services

05:00/JPN: Apr Auto sales

05:00/JPN: Apr Consumer Confidence Survey

06:30/AUS: Apr Commodity Price Index

08:59/JPN: Japan Monetary Policy Meeting decision

22:45/NZ: Mar Building Consents Issued

23:00/SKA: Apr CPI

23:50/JPN: Apr Monetary Base

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 30, 2025 17:02 ET (21:02 GMT)

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